Millions of consumers regularly use product redemption coupons and realize substantial savings as a result. Significant time is spent clipping and sorting coupons, discarding expired coupons and organizing current coupons for use on shopping trips. Conventional coupon distribution results in significant wasted time due to consumers' attempts to manage their coupon use.
Coupons are delivered to consumers through a variety of media such as, for example, free standing inserts (FSIs), in-store shelf coupon dispensers, check-out coupons (generally issued based on the customer's current purchase), register receipt coupons, in-product coupons, instant peel-off on-product coupons, direct mail coupons, and/or other delivery media. In addition to manufacturers' coupons, consumers use retail store coupons, such as those issued by large retail chains on a weekly basis.
Some consumers use coupons on a fairly random basis. These consumers tend not to keep coupons for future use, but will review coupons available just prior to shopping to see if any of them cover products they plan to buy or if there are any for new or improved products of interest.
More organized coupon users maintain some form of storage system to keep coupons for future use. These consumers often clip coupons regularly from all available sources, and often have coupon filing systems by product category. They will also review their coupons regularly, discarding unused coupons which have expired.
For most consumers, attempts to maintain an organized coupon file often fails. The “bother” and time required to maintained organized coupon files often results in neglect of those files, even though diligent shoppers know that a consistent significant savings is easily achievable using coupons.
The notion of issuing product redemption coupons to consumers was an innovative idea to entice consumers to try new products in the hope that, after the first try of a new product at a coupon discounted price, they would become repeat customers at the regular price. Coupons are effective tools used in launching new products. Manufacturers also find coupons can shore up flagging sales, help reduce excess inventory or win back consumers' brand loyalty, and so coupons for existing products have become customary, so much so that today's consumers have come to expect coupons. Often, coupon price incentives significantly reduce brand loyalty, and manufacturers must issue more coupons than desired to maintain market share. Market share also has been impacted by an increase in the number and variety of competing “no-name” store brands. The competitive nature of the retail industry does not allow manufacturers to reduce coupon distribution, and in some market sectors, such as cereals, the majority of purchases are made with coupons.
Attempts have been made to meet the needs of the coupon industry and the consumer. For example, attempts have included television-based coupon reception system wherein coupon information is transmitted along with program information to a broadcast audience, electronic paperless coupon system where coupon signs are placed near the related item and the discount is automatically applied at the point of sale, kiosk type printer stations located at a retail store linked to the manufacturer(s) in order to obtain specific coupon information, and/or other attempts. While these aforementioned attempts at providing couponing systems are useful in their own right, they fail to provide for a secure and interactive coupon generation system in which the user can request, select, store, manipulate and print coupons as desired, in which user-specific information such as demographic data and data representative of those coupons so requested, selected, printed and actually used may be provided back to the coupon issuer and distributor for more efficient coupon targeting in subsequent coupon issuance and distribution.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide such a coupon distribution system which overcomes the aforementioned problems and shortcomings of the prior art.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an electronic coupon distribution system which can be easily accessed by masses of consumers by using a readily available personal computer rather than needing to purchase special-purpose equipment.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an electronic coupon distribution system which allows a user to request transmission of coupon data and select, store, manipulate and print coupons from such coupon data.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an electronic coupon distribution system which allows the coupon issuing companies to access valuable information directly from the consumer without requiring specific and additional action by the consumer but rather by using the information from the user's personal computer regarding the consumer's selection, printing and actual redemption of coupons, as well as responses to demographic queries posed to the users.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an electronic coupon distribution system which allows a consumer to generate shopping lists associated with coupons selected and printed, in order to simplify the shopping process and promote the use of product coupons.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide such an electronic coupon distribution system which allows for automatic deletion of expired coupons in the user's computer database and the modification of redemption amounts of coupons in the user's database, both of which can be transparent to the user.
It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a secure coupon system which generates unique coupons with user-identifying data and allows the printing of a coupon only once, thus eliminating the possibility of fraud by both the consumer and the retailer.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide an efficient, low cost, zip-code/lifestyle/lifestage or household targeted coupon distribution system to tailor the incentives to each user.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide electronic distribution of incentives having real-time consumer based directions.
It is a still further object of the invention to provide electronic distribution of incentives for products or services where associated retail/point-of-sale facilities within a defined area may be displayed on a map to the user with the incentive.
It is a still further object of the invention to enable a user to select the option to print directions and/or a map view when the user downloads a coupon (or incentive) with respect to a point of reference, such as the user's home address, work address, or other identified address.
Other objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent to one of ordinary skill in the art upon reviewing the specification herein.